Your Daily Devotional for May 16, 2006

May 16, 2006

 

A Committed Christian

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.”

 

2 Corinthians 4:1

 

As we look around at the world that we live in today, it seems that old-fashioned, biblical commitment is becoming a thing of the past. People are generally not as committed to their spouse, to their company, to their favorite brand names or sports teams, or even to the doctrine of the Word of God as they once were. It seems the philosophy that is most prevalent in our society is situational ethics, or what we might call an “accommodating theology.” This is the philosophy that asks, “How can God benefit me?” As Christians, we have moved our loyalties and even our beliefs to accommodate self more than the Saviour. Many times, God is little more than a 911 number in our lives.

 

The Apostle Paul is a man that was totally committed and surrendered to the Lord. Paul’s commitment and loyalty to the Lord did not depend on the situation or on how well it would accommodate his needs, but he had made a commitment to Christ and would let nothing interfere with his calling. As he wrote to the church at Corinth, he was challenging them with his testimony of commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. Paul’s commitment was evidenced in his faithful walk with God.

 

Paul’s walk was a walk of acceptance. Paul was accepting the fact that God had called him to serve Him with his life. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry,” Paul says, “we faint not.” Have you accepted the fact that when you were saved, God, at that very moment, had a purpose for your life and called you to serve him with your life? Have you committed your life to this purpose?

 

Not only has God called us, but He has bought us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price…” It is only reasonable that we would present our bodies a living sacrifice. A committed Christian does not deny God’s ownership of his life but embraces it. You are no longer just an E4 in the military, a doctor, a lawyer, or a waitress, but a servant of the Most High God.

 

Paul’s walk was also a walk of mercy. “As we have received mercy,” he says, “we faint not.” A committed Christian does not view serving God as bondage. If you want to know what bondage is, look at the average unsaved person who is bound by alcohol, materialism, or lust. It is not bondage to serve God; it is by His mercy that we have the privilege to serve Him.

 

Paul’s walk was also a walk of commitment—“we faint not.” A committed Christian determines to be faithful until he is called home. A lot of times the values and beliefs of the Bible completely contradict the world today. Sometimes it becomes difficult to serve Him; it can sometimes be difficult to be a witness and to believe what we believe; nevertheless, if you are committed to the One who has called you, you will remain faithful to the Lord.

 

Theodore Roosevelt, once said it this way, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man that points out how the strong man stumbled, or whether the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause, who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 

We all should reevaluate our level of commitment to the Lord. Will you be the kind of Christian who knows neither victory nor defeat? Or, will you be found faithful—committing your life to serve Him?

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